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Finally...a blog hop post!


This blog hop continuation was sent to me by fellow author Jim Landwehr.  In this hop, authors answer four questions and then pass the blog on to other author friends.  Here are my answers to the interview questions.  (Thanks Jim for sending this along, and for your patience!)

1.        What am I working on?

 

I am really close to my release date for my first published book, Absolved.  I’ve recently passed cover art ideas along to my publisher, and should have the cover art soon, so I am anxiously awaiting that.  I’m also just counting down the days to the release as time continues to go by very quickly.  I’m also in the middle of writing my second book, a manuscript I’ve titled The Consequence, which is a story of a marriage forever changed by infidelity.  Honestly what I’m really working on is raising four kids with my husband and growing the fifth in my belly until May, his due date.  Motherhood is the constant around here, and I’m grateful for that.

 

2.        How does my work differ from others of its genre?

 

To answer this I will tell you first that two of my rejections from literary agents I queried regarding this manuscript told me that my book has a “tough topic”.  I even had a male literary agent tell me he thought a female agent would be better suited for my book.  Why?  Because my main character has an abortion.  Controversial?  I suppose so.  I realize this is also a topic that divides many people and our country is currently seeing a lot of changes as abortion restrictions are being passed in state senate chambers.  When contacted by eLectio, I was told that they liked that it had a controversial aspect to it.  Honestly, I just believe my book has a story that needs to be told.  Ultimately it is a fiction work about forgiveness, and how the price has already been paid for all of us, regardless of what we’ve done.  My prayer is and has been from the start that God’s will is done with this book.

 

3.        Why do I write what I do?

 

I like to write.  I’ve said before and will say again that I do not believe I have a great talent for the craft, but I love it.  So I write.  I started to write Absolved after a prayer.  I knew I wanted to write a book but did not know what I wanted to write about…I know that may sound crazy. So I prayed that God would tell me what to write, for His will.  And this story came about.  It’s really an answer to a prayer.  Now…the new project is very different.  The Consequence idea came to me after an episode of “The Office” one night two years ago.  Seriously.  And more on that book will come in another blog later on.  But I write about people and circumstances that can be very real because I enjoy it.  I also hope that in some way what I write can help readers with the circumstances in their own lives.

 

4.        How does my writing process work?

If you know me, even just a little, you know I am a wife and mother before I am a writer.  So as far as the process of when I write, I have to squeeze in time when I can.  Absolved was written over the course of almost three years, usually at night while my family slept, sometimes while nursing a baby.  I had no handwritten notes at first, just sat down at the typewriter, wrote the first 5,000 words over the span of a week or so, and then deleted them all and began again.  I wasn’t sure what all would happen with my main character, just knew where I wanted her to end up.  There is a quote about writing by E.L. Doctorow: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog.  You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”  It’s one of my favorite quotes because it is absolute truth for me.  Even with the new project, The Consequence, I’ve written things I hadn’t originally planned for the book.  Things have just happened as I’ve gone along, and it’s part of the fun for me.

 

Now, please support another eLectio author, Jim Landwehr by checking out his blog at www.writerjimlandwehr.com, and also save the date of June 17th, the day his book, Dirty Shirt: A Boundary Waters Memoir, is set to be released.  I am so excited to read his book and will post a link to my blog and facebook page as soon as it is available so you can read it too.

 

Until next time…

 

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